One of the key benefits of lightweight DITA is that it frees the value points of DITA from a strict dependency on the XML format. You can author valid lightweight DITA content in multiple formats, including markdown and HTML5. These slides, developed by Michael Priestley, Jenifer Schlotfeldt, and Carlos Evia, accompanied a demonstration of how lightweight topics of various content types can be created in XML, markdown, and HTML5, while continuing to make use of standard DITA features such as content reuse and conditional processing and flowing into a common published deliverable, such as an HTML web site, PDF, or EPUB.

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Cross-format content with Lightweight DITA
Michael Priestley, Enterprise Content Technology Strategist, IBM CIO
Jenifer Schlotfeldt, Senior Content Strategist and Designer, IBM Bluemix
Carlos Evia, Director of Technical and Professional Writing, Virginia Tech

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What have we covered so far?

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• Why Lightweight DITA?
o Lower complexity for easier adoption
o Also allows mapping across formats
o Which allows easier adoption
• Minimal topic
o Fewer elements
o Simpler content models
o Functional attribute groupings
• Minimal map
o For managing topic collections, variable
text, variable links, metadata/taxonomies
• Minimal specialization
o Start with an instance – for example, a
topic or a task
o Annotate to define content model
o Annotate to provide docs and more
o Conref to reuse definitions across
specializations
Lightweight DITA
<!DOCTYPE topic>

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oWhy Markdown?
 Enable easier collaboration on
documentation in a format familiar to
developers
 Minimal tagging learning curve
oYou can do minimal extensions to keep
it simple, but enable key advanced
features of DITA
 Standards for accessibility and HTML 5
 Headers, Footers
 TOC
 Content references
 Attributes
Working in Markdown

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• HDITA is HTML5-based
• Can be used for source
format or presentation
• Does not need a DITA Open
Toolkit transformation to
produce user deliverables
• Is compatible with DITA XML
• Presents a simpler way to
author technical content.
Working in HTML (HDITA)

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What if your team is using multiple formats?

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your project
your company
your content
ecosystem
Discussion
Define “team”

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Developers Writing specs In Markdown
Published to
website,
product spec
sheet
Marketers Writing
overviews
In a web
CMS/HTML5
Published to
website,
product
brochure
Technical
writers
Writing
procedures
In an XML
editor
Published to
website,
product docs
Let’s say this is your team
Remote Lighting Network

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Do your own
thing
Each group has its own
authoring tools and
website
Share content by copy
and paste
Let google pick the
winner!
Do somebody
else’s thing
Pick a winner yourself –
one authoring tool, one
website
Drink the salty tears of
the authors in the other
two groups
Or we could
work together
Authors have their
choice of tool and format
Delivery channels are
coordinated and
differentiated
Everyone’s a winner!
What are our options?

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Can they work together?

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Multi-format, Reuse flow
HTML
Remote Network
Lighting
XML
<ph
keyref="product-
name"/>
Markdown
[product-name]
Output to HTML5, PDF,
EPub, and more
DITA Map
<topicref
format=“html”/>
<topicref
format=“markdown”/>
<topicref
format=“dita”/>

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Demo

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Flexibility
• What if developer
takes over some
tasks?
• What if technical writer
takes over some
marketing pages?
• What if task pages
move into the web
CMS?
Coordination
• Share content across
collections with
topicref
• Coordinate variables
with keyref
• (To be built) common
metadata, filtering,
conref
Scope
• What if tasks need to
be published into
support knowledge
base?
• What if overviews and
product details need to
be pulled into RFPs?
• What if tasks and
overviews need to
become embedded
instructions?
What does a standard buy?

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What’s next?

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• Check out Lightweight DITA support in the DITA Open Toolkit
oMarkdown support: https://github.com/jelovirt/dita-ot-markdown
oHTML support: https://github.com/jelovirt/com.elovirta.dita.html
oIf you like what you see there or use the DITA-OT, support the
developer, Jarno Elovirta
oDonation links on the plugin pages
• Play with the sample files we used here:
o https://github.com/VT-CHCI/mixedlightweightdita
Play with what you saw today

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• Check out the vendor demos
o SimplyXML, FontoXML, and Oxygen all have lightweight DITA support
• Discuss what you learn in our LinkedIn group
o https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4943862
• Join the OASIS Lightweight DITA subcommittee
ohttps://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=dita-
lightweight-dita
• Contribute to the new Lightweight DITA Open Repository
o https://github.com/oasis-open/dita-lightweight
See more, do more

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• Joe Storbeck, Jana
• Keith Schengili-Roberts, Ixiasoft
• Kris Eberlein, Eberlein Consulting
• Mark Giffin
• Mark Poston, Mekon
• Michael Priestley, IBM
• Noz Urbina
• Rahel Bailie
• Rob Hanna, Precision Content
• Scott Hudson, Boeing
• Sissi Closs
• Tim Grantham
• Tom Comerford
• Tom Magliery, JustSystems
Thanks to the members of the Lightweight DITA SC
• Aaron Rothschild
• Amber Swope
• Birgit Strackenbrock
• Bryan Schnabel
• Carlos Evia, Virginia Tech
• Don Day
• Edwina Lui, Kaplan Publishing
• Fredrik Geers, SDL
• Ian Balanza-Davis
• Jan Benedictus, Fonto Group BV
• Jang Graat
• Jim Tivy, Bluestream
• Joe Pairman, Mekon
• John Hunt, IBM

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